How to Keep Pests Away, Arrow Pest Service-Panama City, FL

Summer is officially back! The season of barbecues, beach days, and.. bugs?

Unfortunately, the truth is that, though summertime here in Florida is a time for many fun activities with family and friends, our hot, humid climate is ideal for pest activity. This is only increased during the summer when these conditions are at their peak.

In spite of this increased pest threat, there is no need to fear. By taking extra precautions, homeowners can vastly reduce their chances of dealing with a destructive or nuisance infestation.

So the question you are probably asking is: what can you do this summer to keep pests away from your home?

1. Keep Your Property Clear:

Though many pests prefer the warm Florida environment, there are few that stay in the sun throughout the day. Pests such as snakes, spiders, and scorpions are often quite reclusive and prefer to hide away from sight. For this reason, homes with a lot of underbrush, piles of rocks or wood, and other debris may be a more attractive home for these types of pests.

Keeping the area in and around your home clear ensures that pests have fewer hiding places to nest. Further, it makes evidence of pest activity much easier to spot.

2. Keep Food Under Wraps:

Open availability of food resources is one of the most common reasons that invasive scavengers such as ants, roaches, and flies access your home. This is especially true during the summer due to events such as camping and barbecues. Pests can be attracted to outdoor eating areas, such as porches and patios, and from there make their way into the home.

While a few ants eating scraps at a barbecue may not seem like a problem, it is important to remember that ants are social insects that communicate with one another. This means that a scavenging worker will relay the location of a new food source upon discovery and the ants from the nest will continue to come in and around your home seeking food.

Due to this risk, it is critical to keep any stored food sealed and safe from pests and to clean up any stains or spills that might act as a beacon for scavenging pests.

3. Reduce and Treat Standing Water Sources:

Mosquitoes are one of the most common summertime pests. The main environmental reason for their spread is standing water, which provides the ideal breeding environment for mosquitoes.

After a period of heavy rain, it is not uncommon to see an uptick of mosquito activity around your property. If this activity gets out of hand, however, it can make outdoor events unpleasant and make your yard an unusable space.

For this reason, it is critical to eliminate any unnecessary collection points of standing water such as ditches, sinkholes, and tree stumps. Further, any standing water that cannot be removed, such as bird baths or lakes, should be treated by a pest control expert with specialized products to prevent mosquito breeding.

4. Keep Your Pets Parasite Free:

If you have a pet, especially a warm-blooded mammal such as a dog or cat, it is important to make sure that they remain free of any parasites commonly found outdoors during the summer. Ticks, fleas, and other pests are often found in abundance in wooded areas surrounding your home, and these pests can easily cling to pets and people when encountered in the wild.

If a parasite hitches a ride on your pet, it can cause two problems. Firstly, it can cause your pet a great deal of discomfort and sometimes spread diseases and pathogens. Secondly, these pests may be brought unintentionally into the home by the pet, and from their spread and become a much larger issue.

5. Have Your Home Inspected by a Pest Control Professional:

This is perhaps the most important inclusion to this list because there is nothing that can give you 100% assurance that pests won’t infest your home. If pests do infest your home, it is critical to identify their activity and take measures to remove them and to prevent future infestation.

By scheduling regular inspections and pre-treatments, you can deal with pest problems ahead of time and save yourself expense and frustration in the long run. Further, a trained technician can even identify unique conducive conditions in your home that might make infestation more probable, allowing you to take the steps you need to keep your home pest free!

If you are in need of summertime (or anytime!) pest control, we here at Arrow Pest Service have the solutions that you need! We have decades of experience in the pest control industry and employ a team of the best technicians in the industry.

We employ targeted, industry-leading treatment techniques that are designed to eradicate pests from your home quickly, effectively, and completely! In fact, we are so confident that we can deal with your pests that ALL of our treatments are covered by a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee! So you can rest easy knowing that your pest problems are in good hands!